After having his uncle — and longtime regime insider — Jang Song Thaek executed earlier this month, Kim Jong Un’s totalitarian state has set about purging any historical trace of the “traitor” Jang. In the 21st century, Stalinist airbrushing may be one of the more futile, anachronistic measures in a despot’s toolkit. But Kim’s North Korea is a land apart and thousands of government documents and photographs have been removed from the Internet, presumably so that references to Jang can be erased. TIME presents three instances here of Kim’s airbrush at work.

Ministry of Unification / AFP / Getty Images

A scene from the documentary “The Great Comrade” on North Korean state broadcaster KCTV.

Ministry of Unification / AFP / Getty Images

A scene from the documentary “The Great Comrade” on North Korean state broadcaster KCTV.

Ministry of Unification / AFP / Getty Images

A scene from the documentary “The Great Comrade” on North Korean state broadcaster KCTV.